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Town of Nackawic

Community Profile

town hall

Nackawic, a naturalist’s paradise, is nestled in the scenic Saint John River Valley where the cool waters of the Nackawic Stream meet the mighty Saint John. Nackawic gets its name from the Maliseet word meaning "straight" or "not in the direction it seems to be" alluding to the illusion created at the intersection of the Nackawic Stream and the Saint John River. Our Town sits at this bend where the Saint John River turns sharply southeast and flows lazily through 65 km of Mactaquac Country to the Capital City of Fredericton. The Town occupies an area of about 9 square kilometers and it is surrounded by the parishes of Southampton and Queensbury with the Village of Millville 10 km to the north.

Although the Town of Nackawic only has a population of 941 people, it has an economic influence over approximately 8,000 people in the surrounding communities. Nackawic finds itself to be the perfect distance between bigger centres - Fredericton is about a 35 minute drive to the east while the Town of Woodstock is 25 minutes to the west. Nackawic has the best of both worlds - access to the facilities of bigger centres with the comfort of country living.

Nackawic has changed dramatically over the years as the result of two major influences, the Mactaquac Dam and the Nackawic Pulp Mill. In 1966, the Provincial Government decided to build a hydroelectric dam across the Saint John River at Mactaquac. Currently, this dam supplies the majority of the power to southern New Brunswick residents. When the dam was built, the Saint John River Valley was flooded from Mactaquac to Southampton. Nackawic was developed to allow people, displaced from the flood water, to have a place to settle.

The second major change was the opening of the Nackawic Pulp Mill. Due to Nackawic’s superbly suited geographic location, it was selected to be New Brunswick’s first model industrial community. The Mill opened in 1970.

The population in general, is made of approximately 90% English speaking people with the remaining 10% identifying themselves as French, bilingual or other. Further, the vast majority identify themselves as being of western European descent including British, Scottish, Irish, French or German. There are five places of worship including Sts. Simon & Jude Catholic Church, Wesleyan Church, Sure Life Assembly, Kirk United Church of Canada and United Baptist Church.

If you would like to purchase the book The Nackawic Bend 200 Year History you can call the Town Office at 506 575 2241 or email townhall@nackawic.com for more information.